Harry Potter and the Azkaban Fugitives
by VainlyInsane
Summary: Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange are at large. They've not been seen and are believed to be armed and dangerous. Between soul bonds and friend issues, two insane convicts. Daphne Greengrass is in for a long year, full of secrets, lies, and betrayals. On a small hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Problems & Plans**

He was running in the dark. All he saw was the looks frozen into his friend's faces, heard their voices that would never be heard again.

His family was dead, and he was on the hunt.

He had let Albus take Harry somewhere safe.

"Peter!" The black-haired man screamed. He was barely paying attention to where he was running, the only thoughts running through his mind were making the one responsible for the loss of his family pay.

"Peter, you damned rat! Show yourself!" He screamed again, not paying attention to the lights in the houses that were turning on around him.

"Si-Sirius, shut up!" A voice squeaked from behind him.

The man, Sirius Black, turned on spot to glare at the squat man behind him, nervously holding his wand at the taller man.

"You killed them!" Peter cried, his eyes tearing up.

Sirius looked confused as Peter continued.

"James and Lily! your 'friends', as you so called them!" Peter cried, shaking.

"Don't you dare say their names!" Sirius screamed angrily, drawing his wand hastily, pointing it at the man who flinched.

"Or- Or what? You'll kill me too?" Peter said, gulping.

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL IT WASN'T ME, YOU RAT!" Sirius roared, swinging his wand and shooting an angry orange light at the man, who squeaked and dodged.

"Sirius Black, you killed James and Lily and we both know it! _Expelliarmus_!" Peter squealed.

Sirius angrily knocked the spell to the side, before retaliating with one of his old family curses. The purple lightning shaped bolt impacted where Peter had been just seconds before, the dirt caving into itself with a sickly goop.

Had he been paying attention, he would have seen the almost unseen sneer of hatred in Peter's eyes, or the actual ease in which he dodged the spells. Nothing hit him, despite seeming close.

"I will avenge them! They deserve it!" Peter cried, seeing the crowd that had formed.

Sirius froze, seeing the triumphant smirk Peter suddenly had.

"Wha-" Sirius began before the world exploded into a bright white and orange light.

The ringing in his ears hurt, almost as much as much as the rest of him happened to. He coughed, the acrid smell of smoke and flesh in the air.

His vision was blurry as he sat up slowly, seeing the bedlam around him.

The crowd that had gathered was laying still and in pieces. A few low moans and death rattles, but the silence that permeated the air was most apparent.

He got to his feet, feeling his joints groan in discontent. He saw Peter standing on the other end of a crater that seemed.. wrong.

"Peter... what did you do?" Sirius asked looking around.

He saw the sadistic grin his friend held before he began cackling madly. This was wrong. Very wrong.

"I won, Black." He said simply.

He drew a small dagger, and without so much as a whimper sliced his finger off. "Goodbye, mutt."

He watched the man turn into a rat and scamper off in the night, leaving a bewildered Sirius Black in his spot.

Sirius knew he should run after the rat, but the scene he found himself in, there was something wrong. His training as an Auror had his spine tingling. He looked at the blast, willing down the bile he felt rise at the sight of the bodies.

The blast; that's what was wrong. The cone-shaped depression in the floor was inverted, as though it had begun from Sirius towards Peter, where only a bloody finger sat in his place.

As the realization set in, he heard the tell-tale crack of apparition. Aurors and Hit-Wizards behind him.

Peter Pettigrew set him up. It was funny, in a very twisted sense. He didn't know what happened, but he started giggling, and all that giggling turned into uproaring laughter.

The Aurors looked at each other in worry, then at their increasingly maddened comrade who seemed to be at the center of the carnage. A quick stunner he didn't bother blocking and the last laugh echoed in the still night as they apprehended Sirius Orion Black as an undercover Death Eater.

As he was carried out, an older Sirius watched himself being carted off, as his cousin, Bellatrix Druella Black, watched in interest.

"You were bested by Pettigrew?" Bella asked, shaking her head in discomfort as they left the pensive memory.

"As you saw, he was clearly holding back." Sirius said crossly.

"That makes absolutely no sense. I remember your fourth friend, and Pettigrew was in no sense powerful. Decent at potions, mediocre all around, just slightly good at transfiguration, but nothing too great." Bella thought aloud.

"Yes, I remember your ceaseless teasing in Hogwarts. You know, for someone barely older than I am, you sure act 'experienced'." Sirius said, making large air quotes to the final word.

"Why, Sirius, why are you so serious?" Bellatrix asked, a smirk across her face as she said so.

"I was born Sirius, woman!" Sirius smirked back, looking back into the pensive. "It just doesn't make sense."

"So explain it." Bella said.

"Peter was, as you said, never a strong wizard. Would've made a good record keeper or shop owner, something menial. This blast was precise. Killed twelve muggles and hurt the rest without more than knocking me on my arse." Sirius explained.

"Well beyond what he could do." Bella deduced.

"Peter made a big scene, drawing in a huge crowd for the spectacle. Peter never liked drawing attention to himself. It's all... wrong." Sirius said, glaring at the replaying images just below the surface.

"Almost as if it were someone else." Bella said, frowning.

Sirius nodded.

"I tracked him down by his scent. That was, beyond any doubt, Peter. So where did all of that come from?" Sirius growled before sighing.

"Peter was the actual Secret Keeper?" she asked. Sirius nodded again.

"We thought it'd make a good misdirection. I was the obvious choice, his brother in all but blood, best man, lifelong best friend?" Sirius said, waving offhandedly.

"Who knew about the change?" Bella asked.

"James and Lily, Peter. And me, of course." Sirius said.

Bella seemed surprised, which made Sirius glare.

"I'm sorry, it just seems so outlandish that a bunch of Gryffindors would attempt something that subtle and actually play it close to the chest." Bella said, shrugging.

"All except Peter, it seems." Sirius said quietly, staring into the demented face his once-friend made play once more in the pensive.

OoooO

Harry Potter sighed as he stared at his summer assignment.

Even with Snape's Slytherin... advantage in Potions over the other Houses, the summer assignments definitely required some thought. He wanted to ask Daphne Greengrass, but his blonde friend was currently at her uncle's house with her cousin, Astoria, and she wasn't coming back until the week before school which was still some time off.

With another sigh, he sat up and wandered the Greengrass family library, particularly in Cyrus' Potion section to see if anything there would help. He knew the Potions Master demanded a very specific and accurate response to his question, and his littered tomes held very little aid in what was supposed to be a thirty-six inch assignment.

"Harry, this is pointless." Said a grumpy voice from nearly the other side of the library. The boy in question gave a start, having forgotten the brunette girl who was trying to assist with their summer work.

"Tracey," Harry said, sighing again, "As pointless as it seems, we do need to make sure Snape's work gets done to the last dot."

"Ugh, I know, but we can't find any information on what specific ingredient in Wolfsbane is the primary ingredient or even why it neutralizes the uh... 'mindlessness of the beast'." Tracey said, reading Snape's instructions.

"You won't find that here." A voice chuckled.

Both of them turned to see the Greengrass patriarch, smiling softly.

"Good evening, Dad." Harry said, looking back at the shelves with a frown.

"Yes, unfortunately, Wolfsbane is rather new, and most of these books are a bit more dated." Cyrus explained.

"I told you." Tracey said with crossed arms, but a playful smile.

Harry smirked but shrugged, going back to his assignment.

"How new is Wolfsbane?" He asked.

Cyrus raised an eyebrow.

"It's not part of the homework; I'm just curious!" Harry said quickly, realizing how it sounded.

"It's okay, I was trying to see if that'd fluster you" Cyrus said, smiling. "Wolfsbane is just under fifty years old, but has only become publicly accessible in the last fifteen."

"What do you mean publicly?" Tracey asked, scooting closer to hear better.

"Well, until then it was ridiculously high priced, rumor has it, due to You-Know-Who wanting to keep the werewolf population angry at the wizard government and on his side." Cyrus said, shrugging easily.

"That makes sense." Harry said with a frown.

"It does." Cyrus said simply.

Harry looked at his surrogate father and his frown deepened. According to Victoria, a habit Cyrus had picked up from his real father and his friends was an uncanny ability to never really 'shut up'. The short words meant something was wrong.

"Is something happening?" Harry asked.

Cyrus shook his head.

"Just wondering how you kids are doing; I've been a bit worried." He said vaguely.

"Worried about...?" Tracey offered.

He looked at Harry and signalled for Tracey to come closer. The girl nodded and walk over, ignoring the glowering Potter.

"What is it?" Tracey whispered, just loud enough for Harry to hear.

"Harry's never spent a birthday without Daphne and I'm worried he'll be upset." Cyrus returned, matching Tracey's volume.

Tracey burst out laughing, ignoring the murderous and indignant look Harry held, deciding that enough time had been spent in the library for the day.

"Harry! Come back!" Tracey giggled as she excused herself from Cyrus who watched the two bicker away.

He sighed slowly. He liked Tracy, definitely someone any father would want for their child. but the thought of the soul bond weighed on his mind.

 _Hopefully, this won't end badly_. He thought, doubting his own words.

OoooO

"I don't understand."

Daphne gave her uncle a blank look.

"How is this hard to grasp?"

"It just seems so pointless is all." Roland Greengrass said, leaning back into his chair lazily.

"You're just as bad as Harry." Daphne said with an exasperated sigh that turned to a small smile.

"Speaking of the great "Scion of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter"." Uncle Roland began, putting a teasing emphasis on the title.

"Yes?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"How are things between you and the Boy-Who-Lived?" he asked casually.

"I don't know who hates that title more, him or me." She said with distaste.

" I get it, but I can't help but notice you avoid the question. " Her uncle said, chuckling as he helped himself to a drink.

"That's because there's nothing to really talk about. Harry and I are what we've always been, friends." Daphne said nonchalantly.

Roland snorted and rolled his eyes, sipping his drink so as to not comment.

"What? Harry is seeing our friend Tracey and as I am sure auntie Jemma has explained to Astoria and you, Tracey called the Slytherin's Claim. All I can do is let then be. Besides I am.. was… seeing someone else."

There was a very long silence and Daphne could feel the question in the air.

"Auntie Jemma hasn't explained, has she?" Daphne asked. Roland shook his head.

"Explain, child." He said simply.

"Fine, but only since mum and aunt Jemma were Slytherin, as were you and dad." She said, sighing and making herself comfortable.

"Enough beating about the bush." Roland said, setting his drink down.

"Essentially, the Slytherin's Claim is something explained to heiress Slytherins. The idea is, that since most of us are brought up as to be "respectable wives to well known men", we select our suitor young and grow up together. We learn and grow up with our intended and support him until the inevitable marriage that follows."

"You mean to tell me my wife said this to our daughter?" Roland asked.

"Not exactly. All in all, it's more of a guideline to keep girls off each other's boyfriends."Jemma said, smirking at her husband's discomfort. "Dinner will be ready shortly dear."

With that, Jemma Greengrass left the room, her husband looking at her for a moment while Daphne's words sunk in. He looked back at Daphne, who responded with a polite smile before picking up a book.

"But you have feelings for him." he said

Daphne sighed and sunk into her seat.

"That's what Susan said. I decided to be open with her and told her about the soul bound. She was upset but heard me out completely about Harry not knowing." She said glumly.

"Well, just the same. Trying to replace one person with someone else is the easiest way to hurt three people." Roland said.

"Three?" Daphne asked her uncle.

"You, Susan, and Harry." He responded.

"Harry doesn't know." Daphne countered.

"Yet."

OoooO

Dumbledore slammed the door as he walked into his office, Fawkes squawked in surprise. Dumbledore sighed and sat on the chair behind his large desk with a loud huff.

"Sorry, Fawkes. I am just very annoyed with people at this moment." Dumbledore said, waving his hand as the bottle of firewhiskey moved aside to reveal a large pitcher of lemonade.

"I need comfort drinks; alcohol won't help this." Dumbledore muttered as he poured himself a large glass.

"Muggle drink again? Must be bad, Albus." Came the snide voice of Phineas Nigellus Black.

Dumbledore glared at the portrait and sipped his drink, relishing the lemon taste he loved from his favorite candies.

"Dementors, Black. Dementors because of your descendants." Dumbledore said, turning around at the look of shock that the portrait showed. The silence let him know the main in the portrait was gone. The Wizengamot had voted almost unanimously for Dementors to be stationed _outside_ the school, to protect students from the Azkaban escapees. There had been several votes against, one in particular had surprised many, when Lucius Malfoy voted against. A calculated move, really. There were many on the opposite political spectrum that would vote yes just to go against Lucius.

After the vote had been settled, Lucius was asked and stated quite clearly he didn't want "soul sucking beasts around his son". Many realized their vote for had been a bad idea but it was too late.

So after leaving what he considered to be a failed meeting, he went across his school, setting wards he needed to keep dementors off the school. He made sure to add a missive about this in the letters to be sent out to the students. He had also made sure to block the headmaster's office from howlers. He already knew this was a bad idea, it wasn't safe, Merlin's left _nut_ he knew. But he wasn't above the law, as much as he knew he could be.

A knock on the door made the weary headmaster straighten out.

"Enter." he called, flinching at his tired tone.

Minerva Mcgonagall and Severus Snape, heads of Gryffindor and Slytherin respectively, walked into the room, neither of them looking particularly happy.

"How are you, dear friends?" Dumbledore asked, almost sure of what this was about.

"Dementors, Albus?" Mcgonagall asked, arms crossed.

Snape didn't say anything, nor did his expression change beyond a raised eyebrow that said "Well?"

With a sigh of defeat, he explained the situation they were in.

Snape nodded curtly and asked a simple question.

"Protections?"

Minerva looked at him expectantly.

"I have set removable wards that'll keep dementors off the grounds, partially within the forest." He said, earning nods of approval.

"And for Black?"

The question hung in the air. Albus looked into the dark eyes of Snape, sighing, and answered.

OoooO

"They are _literally_ expecting you to be at Hogwarts." Bellatrix argued, glaring at her stubborn cousin.

Stubbornness was, after all, a core Black characteristic, but damn, that with Gryffindor traits made for one stubborn dog.

"I know, Bella, but you saw the rat in my memories. There's no doubt that's Peter that the Weasley kid has with him." Sirius said, packing a small bag.

Once they had returned to England after their stay in warmer climates, they had gone to the central Black home of Grimmauld Place, in London. Kreacher, the house elf was ecstatic to see Bella but confused and upset that Sirius was with her.

"Morgana help me, Sirius, you're only going to exasperate things. I should've let Kreacher saw your legs off." His cousin said, dropping into the molded sofa with a glare.

"Bella, my godson's in danger. I already left Harry once, I sure as hell won't do that to him again." Sirius said, taking the seat across from her.

"So what, be the idiot daring Gryffindor and rush headlong into a dementor filled castle where everyone thinks you're a mass murderer?" She snapped.

Sirius opened his mouth and stopped. She was right; he had no plan.

"What do you suggest then, dear cousin of mine?" He asked.

"Kreacher." She called.

The elf appeared next to the table.

"What can Kreacher do for Mistress Bellatrix and Bad Master Black?" The decrepit elf asked.

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Kreacher, this pureblood crap has cost us all our family; it cost us Regulus." she said, smirking as she saw the elf stiffen. "Regulus turned against the Dark Lord in the end." "Help us make sure those who helped his killer get their just desserts, elf." Bellatrix said, Sirius watching her manipulation of the elf with a smirk.

"What can Kreacher do?" He asked.

"We need a base to work from." Sirius said, thinking.

Bella nodded and looked thoughtful.

"Somewhere close by, but somewhere that won't be disturbed." She said, thinking of the surroundings of the castle.

"Ah, yes. The infamous Black cousins. Notorious mass murders, relishing the screams of their… screams." Sirius said, his eyes lighting up.

"Screams?" Bellatrix asked.

"The Shrieking Shack. Plus, everyone stays away in fear of spooks and haunts." Sirius said.

Bella smiled and turned to the elf.

"Kreacher, can you clean up the shack while Sirius and I prepare to depart? And actually clean it. " She ordered.

Kreacher nodded and vanished with a crack.

"You're coming with?" Sirius asked.

Bella nodded and looked very hesitant.

"Siri, there's something I need-" she began

"Bells, if this about your daughter, trust me, one convoluted plan at a time." He said, grinning as Bellatrix sputtered.

"H-how did you-?" she tried. "Rodolphus went to such length to hide her. How?"

"Bellatrix, there is literally an enchanted tapestry with all our names, spouses, and children on it." He deadpanned.

She looked down, abashed, and nodded.

"I want to find her." She said.

Sirius nodded.

"We get Peter. Prove our collective innocences, meet your girl. That work?" He asked her.

"Yes, thank you." She said gratefully.

"Not a problem at all. She would be about… what...thirteen... fourteen?" He asked.

"Thirteen. She'd be in her third year of Hogwarts this year." She said in a far away voice.

 _If she's alive…_ she thought, willing herself to remain tear free.

OoooO

Daphne Greengrass sighed glumly as she laid in bed. It was still two weeks before she returned home, three before school started again. She had been staying at Uncle Roland's to get away from Harry and Tracey, with whom she still wasn't on particularly friendly terms with.

Sure, they were friends, but even the brief spat over Harry had caused a rift between them. It helped that Daphne had ever so briefly dated Susan Bones, a Hufflepuff in their year, but once that ended, she made it clear that she was uncomfortable with her and Harry alone.

Despite Daphne's insistence that she would respect their relation, even at the silent acknowledgment of the Slytherin's Claim, Tracey tensed up whenever she saw Harry and herself interact physically.

" _You have feelings for him"_ Uncle Roland's words echoed in her mind. She did and it wasn't her fault. They were soulbound, two souls attached by strings of destiny. There was so little information about soul bonds she didn't know what was and wasn't true. All she knew is that it was awful.

She was thirteen. And the fates had basically _given_ her her best friend as an intended. And she waited for the opportune moment to tell him, now it was too late.

How would she go around and tell him "Hey, Harry, I know you're seeing Tracey and things are just swell, but we're soul bond, so dump her?" That was redundant. It would seem like Tracey was right and she was trying to snatch her boyfriend.

Tracey's boyfriend. Who was essentially her brother. Whom she was also soulbound to. Merlin this was complicated. And one thing she didn't want was complicated.

A popping sound reminded her of further complications.

"Missy Daphne." Dobby called, putting in effort to carefully pronounce her name.

"Yes, Dobby?" She asked, not looking away from the spot on the ceiling that was beginning to resemble figures.

"Dobby has finished cleaning missy's room and organizing her Hogwarts throw aways and keeps." He said, slightly proud.

Daphne nodded. Dobby was another complication. He had gotten fired from the Malfoy family for helping deal with the Chamber of Secrets situation at the end of last year, or rather for acting without orders. Lucius Malfoy had cast Dobby out with a curse to not find a new master, fully intending for the elf to die. Dobby, however, had listened to Daphne and used that as a loophole. Now she was stuck with an excitable and jumpy elf who didn't exactly like her.

She had snapped at him for trying to "save" Harry, which meant maim or incapacitate him enough to get him sent home. Her magic had gone wild and began to slowly tear at the elf.

Now he went from "bad masters" to "scary miss Daphne", and she wasn't sure which was worse. That she was a master comparable to the Malfoys, or that she hadn't told anyone about Dobby yet. She had been patient and not snapped at him, or hurt him. But the elf still flinched whenever she raised an arm to stifle a yawn. Whether by her own fault or the Malfoys, she didn't know.

School was coming up, she had made sure her summer homework was done. This was gonna be the year she proved she was the smartest witch of her age; Malfoy and Granger would be left in her dust.

Herbology somehow had them all trailing Neville Longbottom. Neville Longbottom. The boy was practically a squib, damn near worthless with a wand, and yet there he was, perfectly and expertly handling plants with a confident and carefree attitude that made Sprout look cautious.

Thinking of Spourt, made her think about Susan again. She should've seen it coming, really. Sharing things wasn't her forte, and when she tried to explain the whole soulbond thing to her, she reacted pretty badly. Not surprising, since she figured the best approach would be direct and blunt. She was twelve for Merlin's sake.

Now she was thirteen and it didn't really feel like it made much difference, but she felt like it did. Growth was good, according to her mother, and she was usually right more often than her father was. The thought made her grin for a moment.

And with a sigh, she was back at her original conundrum. Her parents had given her a deadline. Tell Harry of the soulbond, or they would when the school year ended.

She needed to explain things to Susan in a way that didn't make her feel like a consolation prize, which she assumed was the issue, then explain to Harry without making Tracey feel like she was trying to butt in. Which was why she now found herself in the guest room of her uncle's house. She figured some distance would help her clear her mind and found out quickly that it wasn't the case. Somehow she felt more focus on her problems away from Harry and Tracey. Susan never replied to her letters, Hedwig returning empty handed and notably upset by it.

Daphne found herself hoping school would take a bit longer to start, not looking forward to the things she'd have to do. Her hopes turned out to be in vain as she realized she had fallen asleep at some point as the sun shining through her windows pointed out.

 **Author's Note:**

Thank you to my loyal fans, please favorite and follow. If you have any suggestions or comments, send me a PM. Thank you to my beta Hapne24.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Trains and Spooks**

Daphne sat awkwardly next to Harry as they watched her father pace in front of them. He had called them to the family room the day before they had to ride the Hogwarts Express. With a sigh, Cyrus sat down, waving his wand with a small muttered, _"Accio!"_

Two packages flew into the room and landed on the table next to him without a sound.

"As much as I loathe to admit it, I do not feel safe about you two at Hogwarts this year. Between Sirius and Bellatrix being spotted in London, and dementors being posted at Hogwarts, I'd feel safer if you two had these with you." He said, levitating the packages at the two thirteen year olds in front of him.

With a curious glance at the packages, they unwrapped them with unplanned synchronicity.

They looked at each other again once they saw what was inside.

"Wand holsters?" Harry asked.

"Wand holsters." Cyrus said grimly. "I don't want you two getting into trouble, but…"

"Trouble finds Harry." Daphne smirked.

"I resent that." Harry said while crossing his arms.

"Daphne, it's only Harry that gets in trouble, now is it?" Cyrus said, with a raised eyebrow.

Daphne blushed and looked down as Harry chuckled.

"Irrelevant of _which_ of you gets in trouble, you're both magnets for trouble and I'd rather you be able to do something about it rather than struggle reaching for wands in a crisis." Cyrus said, sombering the mood. "Dumbledore has taught you some basic defense, and from what I understand, the general theory behind a Patronus, correct?"

Daphne and Harry nodded.

"Yeah, we have the basic wand movements and incantation down, but we haven't so much as made a spark." Harry said, frowning.

"It's very much emotionally based." Cyrus said. "You need to think of a powerful happy and untainted memory."

"Untainted?" Daphne asked.

"The memory can't be polluted by regrets or longing." Cyrus said, clarifying.

Both children nodded looking thoughtful. Cyrus smiled and dismissed Harry, looking at his daughter with a slight frown.

"He doesn't know." There was no question; just a statement.

Daphne looked uncomfortable.

"Yes, I'm aware." She said, not meeting her father's eyes.

"Daphne, my dear. I am not asking you to betroth yourself to him. If you wish to pursue something outside of that, you know I will love and support you." He said, his daughter smiling softly at her father. "However, it's just as much a thing for you as it is for him, whether he realizes it or not, and he has a right to know. Whatever happens after is up to you two, regardless of whatever form that takes."

Daphne nodded.

"Thank you, father for not pushing things." She said.

Cyrus smiled kindly.

"Daphne, I would never force you to do anything. Your mother and I raised you to be able to make your own choices, and we can only love and support you for them." He said.

Daphne hugged him gratefully, a hug her father returned.

"And you - get up and dust yourself! Dinner is in ten minutes and Victoria will have your hide if you're dirty." Cyrus called.

There was a moment of silence followed by some shuffling and quickly departing footsteps. Daphne looked at her father in surprise.

"How did you-?" She began.

"I saw the shadow under the door." Her father responded with a grin. "Whichever one that was, that made them move."

Daphne grinned back and left the room, taking her holster with her.

She made her way to her room and opened her trunk, ready to put the holster away and hesitated.

 _Well… better safe than sorry._ She thought. She arranged the holster with her clothes for tomorrow and made her way to the dining room.

OoooO

There was some small commotion in the crowd at the train the next day. Between the Black cousin escapees and dementors, parents seemed on edge. But the Ravenclaws in particular were freaking out. As Daphne made her way through the crowd, Harry and Tracey having gone ahead to secure a compartment, she overheard Terry Boot, a boy in her year.

"She's alive; I can't believe it. Everyone will probably be overjoyed at that." He said, talking to a Chinese girl she couldn't quite put a name to.

"I know. I just hope people treat her better this year. Especially after that scare." The girl said.

Daphne stopped for a moment, wondering what they meant. The answer quickly presented itself in the form of a blond man wearing spectacularly garish robes of a bright orange.

"Moonbeam, are you sure?" Xenophilius Lovegood asked his daughter, who smiled dreamily at him.

Luna Lovegood, who according to the rumor mill passed away during last year's chamber debacle, nodded. She gave smiles to her various classmates who came by and greeted her more warmly than she expected.

"Daddy, it'll be okay. I will be safe and sound and very careful. After all, Stubby Boardman is on the loose." She said, a few curious glances thrown her way by students who walked on.

Daphne shook her head with a smile and walked on, climbing into the train. She flicked her wrist and her wand appeared in her hand. With a smile, she balanced it in her palm and said, "point me". With a quick spin, her wand aimed down the train, and set off to find her friends.

She passed several students, both familiar and new, all chatting excitedly. With a sigh, she walked past a compartment with Malfoy and his goons, Theodore Nott chatting animatedly.

She finally reached the compartment and stopped with a frown, taking a few steps back. She looked at the compartment next to where her friends were and saw a man in tattered robes seemingly sleeping in there alone.

"He looks dead, doesn't he?" Said a familiar, slightly accented voice.

"Blaise!" Daphne said, turning to her friend who wore his trademark smirk.

"Good to see you." He said, giving her a quick hug and a kiss to each cheek.

He opened the door to the compartment with their friends and signalled a quick after you. A lively chat was taking place soon after. An hour or so after they'd taken off, Daphne excused herself, having to use the restroom.

As she walked back, she noticed a girl sitting alone in the space between rooms, sitting on her school trunk. It took Daphne a moment to realize who she was looking at.

"Pansy?" She asked tentatively.

The girl looked up, red and puffy eyes meeting hers with a half-hearted glare.

"Here to make fun of me too, Greengrass?" She said, another tear dropping.

"No. What happened?" Daphne asked.

"Why do you care?" The other girl said, her anger marred by her crying.

"I was trying to help." Daphne said, unsure of why she was bothering.

"I don't need, nor want to be your good deed of the day." Pansy said, crossing her arms and looking away, reminding Daphne very much as to why she was called Pug-Face Parkinson.

"Whatever then!" She said and walked away.

"W-wait!" Pansy cried, getting up and stopping as she saw Greengrass smirk at her.

"Tell me what's wrong then." Daphne said, turning back around.

Pansy looked around for a moment and sighed.

"Draco broke the betrothal contract." Pansy said quietly.

Daphne cringed. Breaking a contract like that meant the other person wasn't worthy of your time. And pureblood society loved looking down on those "not worth their time".

Malfoy essentially turned her into a reject in her own world.

"How did your parents take it?" Daphne asked, leaning against the wall.

Pansy shook her head.

"I'm roomed next to the house elves." Pansy replied.

Daphne cringed again. Rooms next to house elves were usually reserved for squibs or other unwanted people.

"I- I'm sorry, Pansy. I don't know what to say." Daphne said sincerely.

Pansy shrugged.

"It's what I get for being such a bitch to everyone. My luck turns and bites back hard."

Daphne didn't know what to do. She'd never seen the usually proud girl look so defeated. She sighed and grabbed the girl by the wrist and pulled her into the compartment she had with her friends.

Daphne sat down while Pansy standing in front of her friends, looked very uncomfortable. Blaise looked at her with a raised eyebrow and amused expression at the scene before him. Tracey and Harry both looked confused but smirked.

"Are you gonna keep standing there or are you gonna sit, Parkinson?" Harry asked, Tracey trying to stifle a giggle.

Without a word, Pansy sat down, blushing. Harry gave Daphne a quick questioning glance, which she returned with a barely noticed shake of her head.

The talk resumed shortly after, Pansy being pushed into the chat.

OoooO

With a sigh, they watched as the Hogwarts Express raced by. The Scottish highlands held a breeze that threatened the disillusionment charms Sirius and Bellatrix had placed on themselves.

"I told you we should've just apparated directly there." Sirius said, his eyes never leaving the scarlet train.

"I know. I just… I wanted to see her off, even if she didn't notice me." Bella said, her eyes running along the train as it passed.

"You're just making it worse on yourself, Bella." Sirius said.

"I know. I know, I know, I know. I just… I don't understand how you can stand there and not long for your godson." Bella said.

"I know he's being taken care of." Sirius said, with a shrug.

"Exactly. I don't." Bella said, crossing her arms.

Sirius stayed quiet. He didn't have a response to that. What could he say? "Hey, sorry your estranged child has lived in unknown conditions this whole time."

He instead softly patted her shoulder, smiling apologetically at her glare. With a shrug, she apperated away, to the spot Sirius gave her in the Forbidden Forest.

OoooO

"So, I hate to point out the elephant in the room," Tracey said after a small moment of silence, "But why did you bring Pansy here of all people?"

Daphne looked at the black haired girl who shrugged.

"Malfoy broke off our contract." She said simply.

The stunned silence annoyed her as much as the shocked looks did.

Blaise let a long whistle out that ended in a chuckle, getting everyone's attention.

"Welcome to the club of misplaced and reject Slytherins." He said, smirking.

Pansy rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"Thanks, I guess. Doesn't mean I'm not at the bottom of the proverbial food chain." Pansy said , with a sigh.

"Better at the bottom with company than at the top as a target." Harry said.

"Potter, you're easily the most famous person in school, if not all magical Europe… maybe even one of the most famous in the world." Pansy said, with a quirked eyebrow.

"So?" Tracey asked.

"So how exactly is he at the bottom of the food chain? Sure, Potter, you're a halfblood, but you come from one of the wealthiest and most renowned and respected families. Hell, even the Malfoys wish they had your influence on their name alone." Pansy said, ranting slightly.

"Hold on. Their name alone? What do you mean?" Blaise asked, a hungry look in his eyes.

"Oh Merlin! The information whore rises." Tracey said, leaning back.

"As opposed to him just being a regular whore." Daphne said, earning a grin from everyone but Blaise, who shrugged off their comments.

"Yes, yes, I get passed around like a study guide in Hufflepuff, now shut up! What's this about their name only?" Blaise asked.

Pansy stared at him incredulously.

"Yeah. Lucius Malfoy has the Black influence under his name because he's married to the only person with legal rights to it."

"Narcissa. So that means Draco gets everything from both when he inherits." Blaise said, clearly intrigued.

"Essentially. And even then, with just the Potter name, mophead here rivals them in influence and wealth." Pansy said. "So when the runaway Black dies, so does the name."

Suddenly, Blaise began laughing.

"What exactly is so funny?" Harry asked his laughing friend.

"Malfoy had Pansy living with him and essentially kicked her out without a vow to not reveal secrets." Blaise laughed, his friends realizing what that meant.

"So every dirty secret of theirs…" Harry said, his eyes lighting up.

"Is now in the open." Daphne finished, both of them sharing a predatory smile.

"Please, Pans. Share!" Tracey said, making the girl smile.

The compartment shared a laugh, making Pansy feel optimistic for the first time since the summer holidays began.

OoooO

All alone, the man muttered to himself.

"Black knows."

"He doesn't know."

"HE KNOWS."

"How would be know? You made sure to not leave a trail. He can't link this to you."

"I made a mistake."

"No. You didn't. We triple checked all the work."

"So? We overlooked something."

"He doesn't know."

Silence.

"What about Bellatrix?"

"She would know."

"No she wouldn't."

"How not?"

"Rudolphus made sure."

"Rudolphus was an idiot."

"He made sure."

"He's a dead idiot."

"The contract."

"The contract. Why is she on the run then?"

"Because she doesn't know."

"She doesn't know?"

Silence.

"She doesn't know."

The man sat in silence, his eyes darting across the empty area he was in, sweeping for unseen intruders.

He was still alone, as he'd been all along.

OoooO

The train slowed and stopped.

"That's not right." Harry said, looking at the dark outside. It had started to drizzle a few minutes ago, but now it was storming.

"Is… is that hail? How can it be this cold in early September?" Daphne asked.

"Why are the windows frosting over?" Tracey asked, slowly drawing her wand.

Without a word, the other four drew their wands as well.

"Harry? Do you think this means..?" Daphne asked.

"Dementors." he said, looking pale. "This is how Dumbledore and Cyrus described it."

Everyone shivered. Whether from his words or the sudden chill, none of them knew or cared.

The train was eerily silent, and as though to make a bad situation worse, the lights began to flicker and die.

" _Lumos!"_ Pansy said, her wand casting a dim light in the compartment.

They all stared at the compartment door, seeing a dark shape moving outside silently.

"Please let me in, dammit!" a voice cried. With widened eyes, Harry and Daphne ran to the door, throwing it open and stepping out.

Down the corridor, they saw a Gryffindor pulling on a compartment latch.

"Isn't that camera boy?" Harry asked.

"Does it matter? We gotta help him." Daphne said, seeing the dark figure closing in on the boy.

It was hard to see, as though the dementor made its own fog.

The boy, Colin Creevey, was yelling, as the people inside struggled with the stuck latch.

" _Diffindo!"_ Harry called, his curse hitting the creature with no visible effect.

It did however turn the dementor's attention to the pair in the hall.

"Run, Camera!" Harry called, his eyes trained on the slowly approaching shape.

Without a word, the boy ran down the corridor and into the first open compartment.

"Well that worked, now what?" Asked Pansy, running up behind with Tracey and Blaise

"We learned a charm, sort of." Daphne said.

"You're doing this half cocked?" Pansy asked, her eyes widening as she realized how stupid this was. "How the hell are you all not Gryffindors?"

They began shivering wildly now, the creature was almost upon them, and they were feeling its effects dead on.

They felt cold, hopeless, and then…

" _Victoria! Jemma! Take the kids upstairs, now!"_ yelled a familiar voice.

Daphne looked around and shook her head, not sure where the voices were coming from. The world was growing dim, and Daphne quickly succumbed to the darkness, a distant explosion sound lulling her in.

OoooO

With a start, Daphne shot up. She was in the compartment, laying down. Across from her, Pansy was also out cold.

"Miss Greengrass. Are you okay?" A voice came.

Daphne looked to see a familiar man in tattered clothes inspecting her.

"Mister Lupin?" Daphne asked, sitting up; the world spun and she groaned.

"Professor, it seems." Came an icy voice.

Daphne turned and saw Harry sitting with his arms crossed, looking warily at the man.

"Still hasn't warmed up to me, has he?" Remus asked, with a sigh.

"It's not his fault. You and Dad don't get along and he feels like it might be something serious." Daphne said.

Remus sighed. Since Hogwarts, Cyrus did not like him. There was never any real reason, but a lot of animosity. He was also the only one of their close-knit group who wasn't aware of his… secret.

"That's a shame. James adored me." He said, taking a seat.

"Yes, and now he's dead." Harry said, glaring at the man.

Remus sighed.

"I know." He said simply.

Four sets of eyes looked at Harry as he turned to the window. The train had begun moving again some time ago.

He sighed again and withdrew a large chocolate bar from his patchwork robe, magically splitting it and handing it out.

"Eat this," Lupin said, straightening himself out, "It'll help with the aftereffects of the dementors. I'll be making sure more of them don't board.

The students watched their Professor, to be, walk out the compartment.

"So, what exactly _is_ the deal there?" Blaise asked, his eyes not leaving the closed door.

Daphne shrugged.

"Just never liked him too much. Of the people who knew my family, he is the one who tried the least to be part of my world. And there's something about him that puts me on edge." Harry said, suppressing the shudder he was feeling.

"Alright, Dad." Daphne said, rolling her eyes.

"Please, by all means, call him 'Daddy', just not when we're here." Blaise said, pulling a book from the top of his trunk.

"I- what?" Daphne asked, blushing.

Tracey glared at him, while Harry grinned widely and looked away from the Italian boy.

"Pansy was surprisingly brilliant." Blaise said aloud.

"What do you mean?" Daphne asked.

"Well, after you passed out, Harry began falling too. Since I _did_ spend the summer at your place learning that charm too, I quickly explained the movement and stuff." Tracey said.

Daphne gasped.

"She did it? She cast the Patronus?" Daphne asked in surprise.

"Kind of?" Harry said.

"She made a small glowy mist that made it recoil back long enough for Lupin to come in and save us." Tracey said.

"So why is she asleep?" Daphne asked.

"She had been muttering something about asking Malfoy "not to" before Tracey slapped her to focus." Blaise explained. "And then after she cast it, she smiled and fainted."

"She tired herself out completely with a single, not fully formed spell." Harry said. "The charm is very power draining, and Pansy should be awake by when we reach Hogwarts, according to Lupin."

"I'm glad Pansy Parkinson was here." Tracey said and then shuddering. "That's something I never thought I'd say."

"Mmm.. you're welcome." Pansy said, getting up shakily.

"You're up quicker than expected." Blaise said.

"You're all louder than expected." Pansy said, rubbing her eyes.

A small laugh passed through the room.

"Pansy, if you don't mind, the Patronus requires a happy memory to work." Daphne started.

"You want to know what I was thinking of?" Pansy asked, blushing ever so slightly.

All of the others nodded, making Pansy blush brighter and look down. She muttered a response that made Daphne smile.

"What was that? We couldn't quite hear you." Tracey said, eyeing Daphne's smile.

"I- I said being accepted." Pansy said quickly, not moving her face from the floor.

"Like I said." Blaise said with a chuckle, "Welcome to the club."

OoooO

The train arrived at the Hogsmeade station without any further incidents, the students piling out.

Daphne watched as Harry and Tracey walked on ahead, Blaise keeping pace with her. Pansy had stayed back, saying she wanted a moment before being in public.

"Something bothering you?" Blaise asked, following her gaze.

"Kind of. Father told me I had to tell Harry or… well, you know." Daphne said vaguely.

Blaise nodded, knowing about the soulbond situation.

"They finally gave you an ultimatum? Well, him seeing Tracey does put a bit of a dampener on the wedding." Blaise said, keeping a perfectly straight face.

"How I hate you." Daphne deadpanned. "Remind me why I bother telling you anything?"

"I'm all you've got." Blaise said, smirking again.

"Ugh."

Soon, they had piled into a carriage, waiting a moment for Pansy at Daphne's request.

The black haired girl in question smiled gratefully and climbed in without a word.

"What do you guys think about the whole situation with Black and his psycho cousin?" Pansy asked.

"I could not care less." Harry said dismissively.

"Please don't mind him, he's very upset over the Black thing." Tracey said, smirking.

"Because of the betrayal and whatnot, right?" Pansy asked, looking confused as Daphne and Tracey began snickering.

"More like because of it, father didn't sign his Hogsmeade slip." Daphne said, grinning.

"Oof. Tough luck." Blaise said, smirking. "To miss out on a Hogwarts rite of passage due to the criminally insane."

Harry glared at his friends as they laughed, being clearly not amused with the situation.

"Don't worry, Potter. I'll make sure your girlfriend gets you something nice now and then." Pansy smirked.

"Why are you here again?" Harry grumbled.

"Because you didn't say anything at first and now it's too late." She responded with a wicked grin.

"Alright, so long as you don't drag us down in class." Harry lamely retorted.

"I think you'll be surprised." Pansy said.

"What does that mean?" Blaise asked.

"I mean, I was betrothed to Draco; I didn't have to try." Pansy said.

They all simply nodded. It made sense, after all. It was basic pureblood etiquette training. Daphne closed her eyes and thanked Merlin her parents were not like that.

"Well, we will see." Harry said, looking out to the castle.

They could see dementors in the foggy moonlight. Scores of them, just hanging in the air, their heads at an angle that made them look like hangmen on invisible nooses. They kept a distance from the castle and main roads, but they were definitely visible.

"I can't believe the Wizengamot allowed these things to be at Hogwarts." Harry said softly.

Daphne nodded and suddenly remembered something.

"I didn't realize how loud a Patronus charm was." She said.

Her four friends looked at her curiously.

"Loud?" Tracey asked.

"The explosion?" Daphne asked, not liking the curious stares she was getting.

"What explosion? It was brightish, but not very much so." Blaise said.

"But… I heard an explosion." Daphne said.

Harry sighed.

"And I heard my mother die; it was the dementor." He said, not quite meeting her eyes.

"Oh."

There was an uncomfortable silence in there air, Daphne not liking at all how it felt like the dementors entered her mind.

Harry caught her look and gave her a weak smile.

"It's not something you want to feel like when those things are involved, is it?" He said.

Daphne returned the smile and nodded. It was nice to know he still seemed to know what she was thinking.

"That's still awful. Tracey and I didn't hear anything. Just felt uncomfortably cold and hopeless." Blaise said, noticing the look Tracey was getting.

"It's true. Do you think that's what Azkaban feels like regularly?" The girl said, distracted.

"Cold and dreary? Yes." Pansy said, with a frown.

Four sets of eyes fell upon her at once, making her roll her eyes.

"My family has Death Eater backgrounds; father made me visit some of his family." Pansy said, her tone daring them to ask more.

Any other day, it might've been taken as a challenge. For now, they'd had enough of dementors. The carriage pulled into the stopping point, students between stepping off and entering the castle.

In the back, a slight breeze pushed the dementors' robes, securing the hangman impersonation.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 : Schemes and Reveals**

Daphne looked up in surprise. The Sorting Feast hadn't so much as started and she had been bowled over by an overwhelmed second year. She looked over and saw Harry on the ground as well. Tracey managed to have caught on to the nearest table before falling. The source of their fall was a young, blonde Ravenclaw girl with tears in her eyes.

"Tom!" Luna Lovegood cried, running into the arms of a boy in Slytherin robes that made Harry and Daphne gape.

"Luna!" The boy said in surprise, catching her so they weren't both knocked over.

" _I must say. This is a surprise."_ Harry hissed, eliciting a yelp from the people around him.

" _As one Heir to another, welcome back."_ Tom hissed back, smirking and ignoring the shocked looks from those around him.

Harry chuckled and nodded.

"Good to see you, Tom." Harry said as he sat down. Tom smiled and nodded as he walked Luna to the Ravenclaw table, smiling and talking animatedly.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Said a voice behind him. Harry turned to see Ron Weasley looking pale, his eyes snapping between Harry and Tom. Harry just shrugged and went to sit at the Slytherin table. He watched as Luna kissed Tom on the cheek and the boy headed back, sitting across from him.

" _So you're not dead and clearly, neither is Luna."_ Harry hissed, ignoring the startled sounds and keeping his eyes on Tom.

"Good to see you as well, hope you also had a good summer. Yes, I'm alive." Tom deadpanned.

"And I want to know how and why." Harry responded simply.

"Is this going to be an issue, Harry Potter?" Tom asked, looking the boy over.

"Not unless you make it one, Tom Riddle."

Tom looked around nervously, in case anyone recognized the name. Most of the table seemed interested if not confused by their conversation.

"We will speak in the common room, then." Tom said with finality.

Harry nodded and turned to Tracey, talking quietly among themselves. Daphne watched the interaction with pursed lips. She understood Harry's questions, but the hostility he displayed made her frown. Blaise looked at her with a cocked eyebrow that said he didn't approve either but shook his head and waited.

The sorting went through rather uneventfully and the feast began after a series of announcements, such as Lupin's appointment as their Defense professor, and reminders to stay out of the Forbidden Forest.

"Not as much as a clap for the new professor, Potter?" Tom asked.

Harry gave him a cold stare before going back to serving himself.

"Even Potter knows better than to clap for someone who looks so filthy he makes the Weasleys look well off." Draco Malfoy drawled, not looking up from the roll he was buttering.

"You seem uncomfortably familiar. Who are you?" Tom asked the blond boy.

"Someone above your station, if you don't know my name." Malfoy peacocked.

"Ah, Draco Malfoy then. I've been hoping to meet you." Tom said. This got the Malfoy scion's attention.

"And why would I be interested in what a nobody like you has to say?" Draco scoffed.

"Someone who knows very well what's in your father's cellar. You know, under the drawing room?" Tom said, smirking as Draco physically paled and shrunk back.

"Well, looks like you and I are going to get along just fine, Riddle." Blaise said, matching the other boy's smirk.

"Why is that?" Tom asked, curious about the Italian boy's words.

"Because Zabini is an information whore." Nott said, looking at Tom cautiously. Anyone who could intimidate Malfoy was definitely someone worth keeping an eye out for. He could be a valuable asset or a dangerous enemy.

"Well, this is Slytherin." Tom said, grabbing several chicken legs.

"How would you know?" Asked the black haired girl next to Daphne.

"I will explain in the common room, miss…?"

"Parkinson. Pansy Parkinson." She responded, nodding at his promise to explain.

Tom sighed. This wouldn't be his approach, but the Headmaster seemed adamant that he be honest.

Whether that was true or not would be seen.

OoooO

"So, are we gonna find out who you are, Riddle?" Graham Montague asked, taking one of the black leather seats.

"First, I will require oaths of silence from anyone who actually wants to know." Tom said, looking into the fireplace with the common room to his back. There was a smattering of whispers and curious Prefects chasing first and second years to their dorms after hasty invitations.

"And if we don't?" Asked a 7th year.

Tom gave him a careless shrug.

"Then leave." He said simply.

A few students looked at eachother but all drew their wands.

"I swear upon my magic that I will not share or talk about what is revealed by Tom Riddle in any way shape or form. I will not find a loophole to this contract." Riddle said, not turning around. "I forfeit my life and magic doing so."

There was a moment's hesitation before the room chorused his pledge. Daphne and Harry's group not doing anything.

"Why'd you lot not swear?" Malfoy asked, glancing at the group.

"Because if you paid attention, they already know who I am, little Malfoy." Tom said, turning around.

He had drawn his wand and twirled it between his fingers, looking at the people before him. He turned and wrote out in flaming letters his name:

"Tom Marvolo Riddle"

He turned, seeing a confused look upon the faces of most Slytherins. He caught Harry's eye, who nodded imperceptibly. With a deep internal sigh, hoping to whatever other deity might be listening that Dumbledore was right.

With a sweeping motion, the fiery words rearranged themselves and he felt the temperature in the room drop like a dementor had flown in.

"I Am Lord Voldemort"

Tom looked about the room, faces paled and nervous. A seventh year girl was crying and several were backing out towards the door.

"You swore an oath. What would running do now?" Tom asked simply.

The escaping students froze, not sure what to say or do. The faint orange glow of the letters slowly faded, leaving the common room in it's usual green hue.

"Are.. are you going to kill us?" Asked a trembling girl.

Tom raised an eyebrow.

"I'm fifteen years old in a warded common room where Albus Dumbledore could break in at any moment. Do I look suicidal or stupid?" Tom asked, keeping the amusement out of his voice.

"Why are you here?" Theodore Nott asked, frowning despite his nerves.

"To correct history and possibly let some of you blackmail your families. Information is worth more than any gold, isn't it?" Tom asked.

There were several sighs of relief and a lot of interested faces.

"At what price?" Asked Draco, sitting up.

"A simple price. Those imparted with the knowledge to blackmail their own and gain more power will simply… owe me a favor or two. At least four in your case, Malfoy." Tom said.

Several students looked at each other uneasily. A magical favor carried the weight of an unbreakable vow and the power of an imperius curse.

"After all, isn't your heart's desires to be out of Lucius' shadow?" Tom asked, with a smirk.

"How did you-" Draco asked, shocked.

Tom put a hand up.

"Those favors? "And if we decline?" Asked Adrian Pucey.

"Then you'll leave, just like those whose favor I won't be inquiring for." Tom said simply.

There was a moment's deliberation before a number of students got up and left, the rest waiting to see if any would be dismissed. Tom looked over the remainder for a moment before he spoke.

"There will be no questions until I'm done." He waited and took the silence as confirmation. "Lord Voldemort, as your predecessors knew him, was a fake. He was not pureblood, nor was he even human." Tom stopped and let the inevitable outburst come across the room. He held up a hand, drawing attention back, sighing internally at the misplaced worship. "Voldemort was a magical parasite who quite literally evicted me from my own body. He didn't care for the pureblood agenda. Let me ask you, how many of you feel as though you'd be safe for being pure blooded?" Tom asked.

A significant number of people raised their hands.

"Then you're all lied to from what your parents told you. Voldemort regularly tortured and killed his own almost as regularly as the Aurors did. If you couldn't provide gold, you didn't matter. If you couldn't provide intelligence, you didn't matter. If you could, you didn't matter once it was known. Your station didn't matter." Tom said with a weary tone.

"That's a load of shit! Prove it." Nott said, his teeth grit hard.

"Penelope Nott was murdered by Voldemort's own hand." He said simply.

Nott paled. "N-no...that was a raid against us… father said-" Nott began.

"Your father said as he was ordered to. Imagine an upstanding pureblood gentleman listening to the orders of a subhuman _thing_." Tom said, hissing the last word.

The awkward silence hung in the air. Theodore looked stricken, with a couple of people looking at him with uncertainty.

"Voldemort was subhuman trash who treated his followers as he saw himself; worthless. His ego led him to be destroyed by a mere child." Tom said, shooting Harry an almost imperceptible look.

"Now, to continue."

OoooO

Malfoy lay in bed, thoughtful. Tom's revelations had been a gift, really. He'd been looking for ways to supplant his father, and now he had them. He would be his own man, in a way his father had not been able to. The news however, had been rough. Members of his family had been killed by the madman himself - Blacks and Malfoys alike. He had an aunt that had escaped with a cousin of his; he'd have to see if they lived.

There was one very big thing bothering him. The way Tom had spoken - he was clever and definitely intelligent. He owed him several times over for all the information, well worth it. But something about his words.

Could it be possible Voldemort was alive? Because he definitely made it seem so.

OoooO

"Why the favors, Tom?" Daphne asked as she and Harry sat in the common room with the older boy.

"Once they realized I wasn't going to go around killing muggleborns, they'd call me a phony or worse. This way, anyone who knows more owes me. Favors in Slytherin can get you anything." Tom said, looking into the fire with a smile.

"So that's it?" Harry asked.

Tom nodded, his eyes in the fire.

"Alright, well, I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late Daph." Harry said, walking away.

Daphne watched as Tom's eyes shot to the leaving form of the boy. Her eyes narrowed and Tom sighed.

"Consider it a kindness." Tom said.

"Not telling Harry what you know is a kindness?" Daphne asked.

"It would make his schooling very difficult." Tom said simply.

"So tell me." Daphne said resolutely.

Tom looked at her and sighed.

"All I know is what I heard from under the main drawing room. Voldemort was a bastard but there was never any reason for misdirection." Tom said.

"Why?" Daphne asked, knowing he was stalling.

"Because how could you strike back at a man who you sold your soul to? What do you think the dark mark meant? You belonged to him. He could find you anywhere, and knew if you meant to betray him." Tom explained.

Daphne raised an eyebrow.

"Ophelia, my… friend… she was interested in soul magic. From what I understand, Voldemort used a lot of those same principles." Tom said, a hard look in his eyes.

"So why would this make Harry's schooling difficult?" Daphne asked.

Tom sighed and looked at her, taking in her features.

"Voldemort had a spy in the enemy's midst. Sirius Black, I guess. I never heard who. But there was a prophecy." Tom began.

"A prophecy about Black?" Daphne asked.

"No, about Potter. Something about him having the power to defy Voldemort, I guess." Tom said, before hesitating. "The person who gave Voldemort this prophecy inadvertently sent Voldemort after Potter, never his parents."

Daphne paled but nodded.

"It's someone we know." Daphne said.

Tom nodded and hesitated.

"Daphne," Tom said, using her name to show how serious he was being. "It was Snape."

OoooO

"Mister Riddle. I assume you know why you're here." Snape said curtly.

"Because Headmaster Dumbledore informed you, I assume." Tom responded with a shrug.

Snape looked at him for a moment, studying the boy under his.. care.

"Do you know _why_ the Headmaster chose to assign you into Slytherin?" He asked simply.

"Because of who I am, I would say." Tom replied.

Snape gave him a look that told him to continue.

"I was a Slytherin before my imprisonment. I am the real Tom Riddle and not that imitation Voldemort was." Tom said.

"And yet your ego is no less immense." Snape drawled.

Tom frowned.

"Then, pray tell, why am I within your Slytherin, professor." Tom said.

"Two simple reasons," Snape said. "I have a lot of experience dealing with your.. predecessor." Snape said, his sleeve rolling up to show a faded tattoo that seemed to move.

Tom looked at it and gulped.

"And the second reason?" He asked, his eyes somehow finding Snape's eyes.

"And secondly, if need be, I will kill you without hesitation." Snape said simply. "The door is behind you."

With that, Snape waved his wand, ignoring Tom's flinch as he quickly made his way out without a look back.

OoooO

"...Nee…. Aaaaaphneee…" the echoey voice called.

"Mmm… five more minutes dear, please." Daphne responded, rolling over in bed.

A shock of cold water made her shoot up, sputtering in surprise. She turned and saw a smirking Tracey.

"Tracey, what in hell's name was that for?" Daphne demanded indignantly.

"We need to get ready, or else you're gonna be late." Tracey said with a grin. "On the bright side, you can skip your shower."

Outside, the boys saw Tracey run out of the dormitory hall with a huge grin while red bolts of light chased her.

Harry smiled and looked about with a hopeful glint in his eye.

"Harry-" Blaise began.

"I feel like this is gonna be a good year." Harry said with a smile.

Blaise groaned and rolled his eyes.

"I swear, do you ever learn?" He asked exasperated.

"What'd you mean?" He asked confused.

Blaise looked at him incredulously.

"Did our first two years not teach you anything?" Blaise asked. "Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange are on the loose. There's soul sucking beasts around, and that's just what's outside the walls. We have the literal young Voldemort in our house this year and everyone is acting like he's just another student rather than a possibly scheming Dark Lord."

"I mean-" Harry tried.

"Just no! Every time you've had hope for a good year it all goes terribly wrong. Now, you've doomed us all to another year of utter shit." Blaise ranted.

"Harry said it'd be a good year?" Tracey asked.

"Yup." He said.

"Dammit! We're all done for." Tracey said with a melodramatic sigh, ignoring Harry's indignant look.

"I'm just being optimistic and-"

"Oh, Merlin. Did Potter say it'd be a good year?" Nott groaned.

Most of their year groaned collectively as some gold exchanged hands.

"Pay up Greengrass! For a Slytherin, Potter really skims the odds against himself." Malfoy said, smirking as Daphne handed him a couple of galleons.

Harry shot her a betrayed look, and got a shrug in return. He sighed, but it was fine. He was optimistic, regardless.

That was Victoria definitely rubbing off on him.

OoooO

Bellatrix frowned as she surveyed the room. The furniture looked somewhat usable even if torn and dirty. The room itself had definitely seen better days, with claw marks and entire pieces of the wall gouged out. Her cousin was making himself quite at home, laying down on a horribly stained _thing_ that passed for a bed.

"This is prepared?" Bella asked, looking around the room.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, stretching on the bed.

"The whole place is just so… filthy." She said, running a finger over a countertop and glaring at the splinter it gave her.

"Bellatrix." Sirius said, sitting up, "Are you really complaining about _dust_ and _stains_ after _Azkaban?_ "

Bella had the decency to look somewhat abashed but nodded.

"We are the last of the actual Blacks; we should act like people of our station." Bellatrix said.

"We are also fugitives who are planning on breaking into Hogwarts for revenge. We sound about as bad as the damned _Prophet_ makes us look." Sirius deadpanned.

"Yes, but we're hunting a rat, not some teenage celebrity, whether he's your godson or not." Bellatrix argued.

"Fine, call the elf and demand he clean better." Sirius shrugged and laid back down.

"Kreacher!" Bella called.

With a popping sound, the ancient elf appeared and took a bow.

"What can Kreacher do for his Blacks?" The elf asked.

"You can start by properly dusting this room." Bella said.

Kreacher looked around in confusion.

"Kreacher confused. This is cleaner than how Mistress keeps." The elf croaked.

Bellatrix turned to Sirius with pursed lips and saw her cousin hiding his amusement.

"Did Sirius set you up to not clean properly?" Bella asked, eyeing her cousin.

The elf scoffed, making Sirius giggle. Sirius Orion Black, the Lord of the Most Ancient and Noblest of houses, giggling like a child.

"Kreacher wouldn't do anything for bad master. He broke mistress's humble heart. Oh, poor mistress." Kreacher mumbled.

Sirius smirked and Bella sighed.

"Kreacher, do you care at all for House Black or just Walburga?" She asked.

The elf looked startled and sputtered, clearly unable to answer.

"Walburga's way of thinking killed us, Kreacher. Sirius and I are without heirs, and possibly unable to sire any. Thanks to Walburga and the purity movement, House Black will die with Sirius and I." She said, glaring at the elf.

The elf looked worried.

"But Mistress Cissa?" He tried.

"Narcissa is a Malfoy and Andromeda is a Tonks. Sirius and I are Blacks." Bellatrix said with finality.

Kreacher looked down and nodded.

"Kreacher will behave." He said slowly.

"Good. Go get us food." Bellatrix said.

Kreacher nodded and vanished with a pop. Sirius chuckled darkly.

"I love seeing that thing looking beat down." Sirius said.

"You really don't like him, at all." Bella said with slight amusement.

Sirius shook his head.

"No, but on the topic of obvious things, we need a plan." He said

"A plan for what?" Bellatrix asked.

Sirius looked at her dumbfounded and she snickered.

"I'm not an idiot, Siri. We're already not off to the best start since we don't have wands, you dunderhead." Bella said.

"Thankfully, they're looking for two escaped convicts. We can apparate and turn into animagus forms without wands and it's a damned blessing." Sirius said.

Bella nodded thoughtfully.

"If Peter is at Hogwarts, he will definitely recognize your mangy arse, so I'll run reconnaissance for us." She said, getting a sigh from Sirius.

"I'll be moving from here to London to keep an eye on whatever Malfoy is doing." Sirius said.

"Wands?" Bella asked.

"I'm sure I can find some decent back-alley ones." Sirius said. "After all, we are _dangerous fugitives_ and I can be quite persuasive as you know."

"We're already wanted without someone reporting you for some actual criminal activity, you fool" Bella reprimanded.

"I'm so worried about an illegal wand seller reporting me, among the hundreds of other alleged sightings of us thus far." Sirius snarked.

Bella stared and frowned. She hated when he was right; he got so cocky. Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Sirius began smirking.

This would end only in two ways. Either they'd prove Sirius's innocence or they'd kill each other. Right now, the latter seemed more likely.

OoooO

AN: Happy New Year everyone!

AN2: Please favorite, review, like and comment. I really appreciate your support.

AN3: Thanks to my beta, Haphne24.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Duality**

Luna Lovegood tossed and turned before rolling onto her back. She stared at the canopy of the bed, contemplating the first day back to Hogwarts castle. The train ride mere hours ago had been eye opening and she had more questions than she felt a second year should have. First and foremost had been the dementor. How one of those beasts, and as an aspiring magizoologist, Luna had no better term for those _things,_ had gotten into the train in the first place was beyond her. Worse yet, it _spoke_ to her.

 _Earlier that day_

Luna had been confused as everyone else had been when the train stopped. The cold and dark that accompanied had her feeling desolate. The greyed hands of the creature slowly grasped the open compartment door. Her classmates shrunk against the opposite end of the compartment and Luna stood closer than she'd like, facing the swirling, misted darkness of the hood.

" _Master…"_ A cold, low voice called. It sounded hollow, artificial almost.

Luna stared at the creature and shrunk back as it came in.

" _Your servants in the Dark will be waiting for the mark…"_ The voice said, echoing in her ears as the dementor pulled back and left the compartment.

"L-Luna, are you okay?" One of the boys in the room asked.

Luna turned, unaware of the tears flowing from her eyes.

"Did you hear it? What it said?" She asked, her voice an almost hysterical whisper.

The others paled.

"Luna, it just stood there." One boy said, looking at her and the door nervously. "Dementors can't talk."

 _Present time_

Luna shivered in her bed. Even with the warming charms applied to each bed to keep a nice temperature, she felt cold and dirty. One of the darkest abominations to stalk the world had spoken to her. However, she didn't want to dwell on it as she had other concerns.

She had been overjoyed to see Tom Riddle back in her life. She was certain her friend had perished in the Chamber incident. However, there was a burning question in her mind.

Last year, hadn't Tom attacked her?

She remembered the corridor with the torches turning out. She remembered the fear of _something_ being after her. And then, nothingness.

However, the dementor's unwanted ability to bring trauma to a forefront had broken some bewitchment on her memories, and she remembered Tom coldly treating her like some incompetent means to an end.

She had so many questions.

Had it been him? Had he actually hurt her? Or had that been the diary?

She was crying again as she rolled on her side. Tom was her friend.

He had to be.

OoooO

Daphne looked at herself in the mirror in her dormitory room with a small sigh. She hadn't changed much in the last couple of years, unlike her friends. Harry had grown a bit, not quite towering over her, but definitely taller than her. Blaise had grown just as much as the other boy. Tracey hadn't gotten much taller, but she was definitely filling out in a way that made Daphne feel self conscious.

Objectively speaking, she felt she was prettier than her friend, even if Tracey wasn't bad looking to begin with.

She sighed. Her mother said not to worry. That did help, but not much. She felt like she looked childish next to her friends, public facades or not.

Maybe she was just reading too much into it. Her "ice queen" thing was more intimidating, according to her friends. No objectivity there.

' _Why do you care_?' She found herself asking.

She wanted to sound uncaring about it, but it was accusatory. She knew exactly why she cared, but as long as it wasn't obvious to the world, it was fine.

She walked out to the common room, seeing some older students plan their days out. Malfoy was giving some basic orders to Crabbe and Goyle and Nott provided an occasional comment.

Did those two seem to be standing taller? Whatever Tom had told them really seemed to take some weight off of them.

As she looked around the room, she noticed the general atmosphere of the room was significantly lighter than she remembered it ever being. All sorts of people seemed happier. Tom managed that.

' _And all in one day. Not bad.'_ She thought to herself. ' _Now to see how long it'll go on for.'_

The aforementioned fifth year boy walked into the common room, a few smirking students made small talk, most of them greeting him as "my Lord". Merlin, she hoped it was ironic.

A lot of the students doing this came from heavily Death Eater families, which only made her feel more paranoid. She saw Harry and Tracey walk out of the dormitory hall, Blaise close behind.

' _Oh yeah. That's why you care._ ' There was that voice again. No, she recognized this as what it was; her conscience. It was guilt. Guilt at still not having told Harry about the soul bond. Guilt at having feelings for a boy with a girlfriend who was also her friend. Shame at herself for being too afraid of saying anything. Worry at how things will turn out. She was certain neither Harry nor Tracey would be happy with the information. Even less when they know how long she'd known for.

"Distance is the thief with which you conspire." A black haired girl said, who'd she had almost forgotten was there.

"What do you mean, Pansy?" Daphne asked.

"Well, you keep staring at Potter like some delicacy you crave but can't have. You steal glances at a distance."

Daphne looked embarrassed.

"I do not!" She said, face very red.

"Daph- er.. Greengrass, I could ask if anyone thinks you fancy Potter and I'm sure most people would agree. Why do you think Trac-damn- Davis glares at you so much? You constantly eye her chosen beau." Pansy said.

"I swear it's nothing like that!" Daphne said, feeling more embarrassed than she thought.

Pansy gave her a predatory smile that reminded her just a bit _too_ much of Blaise.

"Would you make a witch's swear on your magic that you have no interest in Harry Potter whatsoever?" Pansy asked.

Daphne's eyes widened and she tried to stutter an excuse. Pansy chuckled, making the blonde girl glare in embarrassment.

"And that is exactly what I meant." Pansy said smugly.

"Shut up." Daphne said simply.

"Do something about it." Pansy said with a shrug.

"What?" Daphne asked in surprise.

"Are you worried?" Pansy asked.

"Tracey has a Slytherin's claim on him."

"So? The claim means something, but it's not like you can't challenge it. If you have a strong enough stake over Tracey, he's all yours." Pansy said, watching the common room interactions with Daphne.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Daphne asked.

"Doing what?" Pansy asked, confused.

"You keep _almost_ calling us by our first names and switching back to surnames." Daphne said.

"I'm just not close enough to feel comfortable using your first names." Pansy said, biting her lip. "You guys have been nice to me, but I can't help but feel like we're not quite friends yet."

"I think we're friends." Daphne said simply.

"I know you're avoiding what I said about challenging her claim. But.. thanks, Daphne." Pansy said, smiling.

OoooO

"New schedules." The prefect said, handing Daphne her schedule as he walked down the table in the Great Hall. She looked it over her courses, and nodded, committing it to memory.

"I regret my classes." Pansy said with a huff.

"Why is that?" Harry asked.

"I originally had all my classes lined up with my now ex-fiance." Pansy said with a sour look.

"I'll keep you company then." Blaise said nonchalantly as he began serving himself breakfast.

"Blaise, what in the hell is wrong with your schedule?" Tracey asked.

"Nothing at all, why?" Blaise asked, looking down at his sheet.

"You have ten classes to our seven." Tracey said.

Harry and Daphne gave each other a look before Harry reached for Blaise's timesheet.

"Bleeding hell, Zabini. How are you managing this? Half these classes conflict with each other." Harry said.

"I'm not the only one." Blaise said with a shrug.

Before they could ask what he meant, an outburst from the Gryffindor table answered the unasked question.

"How are you gonna do three classes at once?" Ronald Weasley cried out, looking at Hermione Granger.

She pulled him down by the ear, silencing him very effectively.

"Tell me you're not doing this over a girl?" Tracey asked with a groan.

"Why, Miss Davis! I would never." Blaise said in mock offense. "Word is that Miss Granger is seeing one of the Gryffindor Weasley twins."

"Just one?" Pansy asked, not looking up from her porridge.

She noticed the glances and smirks being sent her way and put her spoon down.

"What? They're identical. How could she tell them apart? She's probably seeing both and not realizing it." Pansy said with a shrug.

Blaise snickered and even some other students chuckled. A bit further down the line, Nott made some comment about a fuzz-haired ginger sandwich.

"Hey, Potter." Draco Malfoy said, turning his schedule over. "Our first quidditch match this year is against the Gryffs. Do you have a replacement ready?"

"Malfoy, you already know you're the back-up." Harry said. "Why ask?"

"Because I don't intend to lose the cup over your issue with dementors." He said, lowering his voice enough to not be overheard by other tables.

Harry looked pensive for a moment before he leaned back.

"Oi, Flint." He called.

The Slytherin boy raised an eyebrow and walked over, being signalled by Potter _and_ Malfoy.

"What's so important a couple of third years required me to get up?" He demanded.

"We have a possible situation with the quidditch squad." Harry said with a frown.

This immediately got Flint's full and undivided attention.

"Speak."

"Potter has an unfortunate fainting issue when dementors get too close. I think we may need to make sure we have some way to properly switching players if need be." Draco said.

Harry nodded.

"One player isn't worth losing the cup. We need to practice exit drills and maybe some schedule to keep both me and my replacement sharp." He said.

Draco nodded and Flint looked thoughtful.

"We can definitely work something out." He said, before glaring at both of them. "However this won't be an excuse to half-ass on any and all training and games, am I clear?"

Harry and Draco glanced each other with a smirk and nodded. With that, Flint walked back over to where he was.

"Just look at him!" Tracey said with a giggle as she watched Blaise walk to the Gryffindor table.

He patted Granger's shoulder and nodded his head to the hall. She nodded and grabbed her bag, quickly following Blaise out of the Great Hall.

"He's probably gonna try to snog her senseless." Tracey said a giggle.

"I dunno. Blaise might be a prick, but I don't think he would be one to force himself on anyone." Harry said.

"Especially not some mudblood." Theodore Nott said, spreading jam on his scones.

Some people nodded at that, others rolled their eyes.

"Well, some things really don't change." A voice said. They turned to see Tom sit nearby with an easy smile. He shared a couple of greetings and checked his time sheet, absently serving himself food.

"So, why are you sitting here rather than with the other fifth years?" Draco asked, genuinely curious.

"This was my spot. Dead center of the table. No matter what happens, this side of the table always keeps this spot exactly in the middle." Tom explained.

"I mean, fair, but still not sure why." Draco said.

"I've sat here since my first year. I know where and what foods are around me so I don't have to bother looking up. And besides." He said, before smirking and hissing " _The Heir of Slytherin never has to serve himself."_

Malfoy choked on a bit of kipper he was eating, spitting it up with watery eyes.

"Bloody frickin' Merlin's suspended balls." Malfoy choked out. "Can you not do that when I'm trying to eat?"

A couple of uneasy chuckles came from people who found the situation funny, but agreed with Malfoy that it was definitely disconcerting.

" _Maybe someday he'll grow up."_ Harry hissed nonchalant, eating a piece of fruit.

Tom snickered and nodded.

" _Maybe one day."_ He agreed.

Draco shivered and looked back and forth between them.

"I don't understand a single word and yet I can't help but feel attacked." He muttered, making both boys laugh.

Daphne looked fondly at her friend, enjoying a rare lighthearted moment. The necessity of appearing self assured as an heir to a prestigious house definitely had its pluses, but having to appear so closed off in front of the world was not one of them. A loud throat clearing caught her attention.

She turned and saw Tracey frowning at her.

"What?" She said, with her own frown.

"Daphne, please. I am asking you, hell, _begging_ you. We're friends." Tracey said.

Daphne looked at her and stood up.

"Come with me." She said, walking out of the Great Hall.

The shorter brunette girl stiffy rose and followed out, Pansy quickly gathering her things and Tracey's before following the other two out. She walked out of the Hall just in time to see Tracey walk into a vacant classroom. She walked to the door and was about to open it when she heard the other girls' voices.

"-Ell is your problem?" Daphne asked.

"You know damned well what my issue is." Tracey said. Pansy could imagine the shorter girl crossing her arms.

"Harry is my friend, Tracey." Daphne retorted.

"And yet you keep ogling my _boyfriend_!" Tracey answered almost yelling.

"Harry and I were raised together. Hell, born together. He might as well be my twin brother." Daphne said exasperated.

Pansy could imagine Tracey rolling her eyes because she did the exact same thing.

"And yet he chose me out of both of us." Tracey replied.

That was news to Pansy.

"Yes, and I dated Susan Bones, remember?" Daphne responded.

That was also news.

"And how did that go?" Tracey said in a way the sneer could almost be felt in her words.

"That- that wasn't my fault!" Daphne said, sounding caught off guard.

"Why not?" Tracey demanded.

"Everyone started acting all weird after the Chamber last year. Susan decided she would stick with her house. She even left our study group. Hufflepuff loyalty my…" Daphne said in a grumpy tone.

"And yet, you don't seem very upset." Tracey pointed out.

"It was a short relationship that went nowhere. Sorry for not acting like the world ended." Daphne replied in a snide tone that would've made Snape proud.

"And I've been with Harry for almost a year." Tracey said. "And either you get that and you care about our friendship enough to respect that, or you don't and you're as cold as your 'Ice Queen' crap makes you seem."

Damn. _THAT_ was cold. There was a popping sound and moment of silence that made Pansy worry one of them may have actually killed the other. Before she could react, a pop was heard and an upset looking elf appeared next to Pansy who snapped his fingers, launching her into the room.

"Sees, Missus Daphy? Dobby found a snoop!" The elf declared.

That's why it looked familiar. It was the old Malfoy elf.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Pansy asked the elf.

The elf squeaked and looked ready to attack.

"Is snoop girl threatening Dobby?" The elf asked.

"Pansy, what are you doing?" Daphne asked with a frown.

She had the decency to look ashamed.

"Honestly, I was coming to give Tracey her book bag but I stopped after I heard you two talking." She said honestly.

"So you stopped to eavesdrop." Daphne said, glaring.

That Ice Queen look was intimidating.

"I didn't mean to and neither of you locked the door or put up privacy charms. I wouldn't be surprised if half the Great Hall caught part of your spiel." Pansy said.

' _Good job on not stuttering._ ' She thought to herself.

Daphne's glare softened and Tracey gave her a weary smile.

"We uh.. didn't think. Haha…" She said weakly.

"Yes, I noticed." Pansy deadpanned. "Look, you two have some issues to work through around Wonder Boy, but remember in public, we should be one unified front."

The other girls nodded and sighed.

"Look, Daph, you're my friend, and I adore you. But, Harry chose me. Please, if that means anything to you, respect that. If it falls apart, it falls apart and I won't blame you for making a move then. Let me have a chance." Tracey said softly.

"Oh, Trace." Daphne said with a sad smile, hugging her friend.

It seemed they made up.

' _But, Daphne never did say she agreed._ ' Pansy noted.

OoooO

Sirius woke up, sighing internally. The cold grey cell that greeted him was normal. Just another day in hell. And that was essentially what Azkaban was; Hell on Earth.

He watched the grey nothingness that misted outside of the excuse for a window in his cell, his dirty rag bed tossed aside.

"Hold him steady boys!" A voice called.

Sirius turned to the door, quickly glancing both ways to check for dementors.

Footsteps came closer and closer along with the rattle of chains between them.

Two dementors floated ahead of the parade of bodies. Hit Wizards and Aurors all on high alert. The sight of it made the hairs on his neck stand on end.

"Dwallings, don't give him any slack!" A voice ordered.

"I'm not, sir!" The man now identified as Dwallings responded, looking fearful.

The rattle of the chains came closer, and stopped with a gap between the people. Between them, there was a man, about twenty years old. His raven hair was messy and unkempt, and his round spectacles were cracked. He had a very familiar smirk on his face. Sirius was too shocked to gasp. The tears welled up in his eyes and his voice, gravelly from misuse called out in anguish.

"J-James? Pro- Prongs?" He coughed out.

The man's face snapped to him, eyes closed but the smirk remained. The eyes slowly opened, an eerie glowing green.

"Come now, Uncle Pads. You should know better than that." The man said.

If Sirius felt sick, this made him almost vomit.

"No. No. No no no no no no NO!" Sirius cried. "You can't. Not you. Not you Harry! Not my Harry!"

"A bleeding merciless killer. Just like his godfather." The man in the back said solemnly.

Sirius turned to the man, Albus Dumbledore.

"I never killed anyone! I never did!" Sirius screamed at the wizened man.

"You killed my parents." Harry said with a feral smile.

"No! That was Peter! Peter Pettigrew! I would've never done anything to hurt you, Pup!" Sirius cried, tears greying from his dirty face.

"You killed me too, Sirius!" A portly man said who was behind Harry.

He watched in horror as Peter Pettigrew turned to him.

"You killed us."

That voice. Not that voice.

He turned to see a red headed woman staring at him with such hatred.

"Lily… please." He begged, his voice just above a whisper.

"You killed us, Sirius Black. All of us. And look where that led our son." She screamed at him.

"You're a heartless monster." The woman in the opposite cell cooed. Bellatrix LeStrange taunted in that grating baby voice. "Just like your big cousin!"

More and more people began shouting at him, Harry and Bellatrix cackling in an insane harmony. Sirius cried and fell back into his cell. He huddled in the corner, metal bits and rocks on the floor biting into his skin. The voices grew louder and more sinister as the mad cackling became more and more insidious.

And as sudden as it began, there was silence. Absolute stillness and silence.

Sirius opened one bloodshot, watery eye and saw a dementor leaning into him, the thing that passed as its mouth closing in. He didn't care. He didn't have it in him to fight back. To scream for mercy. This was his end. This was…

With a gasp he woke up, his bed squeaking in protest of the sudden movement.

"Sirius?"

He turned to see Bellatrix opening and closing her mouth, trying to undry her mouth.

"Y-yes?" He asked, his voice hoarse.

"You screamed first. Go fetch breakfast." Bella said, stretching.

Sirius nodded and rose up. It was a dream. All just a bad dream.

OoooO

Tom walked down the corridor to his first class, running a hand along the wall. A couple of his fellow fifth years walked with him, talking animatedly. He missed this so much. The feel of the stone under his fingertips. The carpet in the halls beneath his shoes.

Weird things one misses not having a body.

"Tom Riddle!" He stopped and turned to see Luna Lovegood standing behind him, looking very nervous.

"Buzz off, Looney!" One boy sneered.

"Hodges. I may not be Lord Voldemort, but insult my friend again and I'll show you where it comes from." Tom said coldly.

The boy in question, Hodges Gale froze up and nodded fearfully.

Tom, glared at the boy for a second before he snickered and shook his head, the other boys understanding the bluff.

Tom walked past the group of boys to Luna, who flinched when he raised a hand to offer a hug. He paused and frowned.

"What's wrong?" He asked, feeling worried.

"Did you attack me?" She asked.

His eyes widened. The boys behind him suddenly looked away, looking uncomfortable.

"We uh.. we'll see you in class" They said, walking away in what he recognized as fear.

"Luna, what?" He asked, looking very concerned.

"Don't 'what' me, Tom Riddle!" Luna said with tears streaming from her eyes. "You chased me in the dark. You hurt me."

"I know."

Luna looked up in shock. Her face scrunched up in a pained expression.

"Why? You're my friend. I thought. I thought you were my friend!" She cried, smacking his hands away as he tried to approach. "No! You will answer me!"

"I didn't have a choice." He said softly. "Voldemort knew I would never willingly set the basilisk free. He enchanted the diary and my soul along with it."

Luna looked at him, a sign to continue.

"Luna, he turned me into a parasite. He forced me to drain your magic." He explained.

"How did- did you stop?" Luna hiccupped.

"Unlike Voldemort, I regret hurting you. The regret gave way to me, from under the charms. Slowly, I overpowered them with your help and Myrtle's. It almost took me too long. Had it not been for Daphne Greengrass…" He said, his voice fading.

"If not for her what, Tom?" She asked, knowing the answer.

Tom looked into her eyes, seeing the hurt in them.

"Then I would've killed you coming back to life. Whether I wanted to or not." He said, his voice wavering.

There was a tense silence, occasionally broken by Luna's sniffling.

"Please, leave me alone." Luna said, a deep pain evident in her voice. She walked away, and Tom felt a pang in his heart.

There was a certain aloofness and calm from her normal behavior that was missing.

And it was his fault.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Wands and Broken Wings**

"P-Please, I beg you! D-Don't hurt me! I-I have a family!" The man cried.

This was not a good day for Reginald Tinsley. He was currently on unpaid leave from work due to some idiot mismanaging galleons. He was pretty sure it was that blasted new girl, the damned airhead. This coming on right after it turned out his wife was sleeping with someone in the Magical Creatures wing of the Ministry, the news of which came after he was kicked out of the shop he worked at.

His grandiose idea of dealing with it over a pint that night had ended even worse. Some men at the Drunken Dragon didn't like him for some reason. They roughed him up, took his gold, and tossed his wand aside.

A half hour's search later, he finally found it and a quick _Lumos_ had shown that his bad day was about to get worse. In the light of his spell, he saw two people approach him. In his drunken haze, he did something no self-involved resident of Knockturn Alley would do; cast a second _Lumos_.

The two people were closer and even in his very inebriated state, he would recognize the two people anywhere.

Reginald was about to scream when the woman put a finger to his lips. She smiled at him pleasantly, as though this was an average, daily interaction.

"Hello, dear!" Bellatrix said, stretching out the greeting.

Sirius gave a simple nod. Reginald was too shaken to fight back, and now he was quite certain he had soiled himself.

"You're gonna be a good boy and hand me your wand, yes?" Bellatrix asked, her smile looking more than menacing in the light of the spell.

Reginald nodded and handed it to the mad witch.

' _Maybe if I'm lucky, she'll just torture me.'_ He thought.

Bellatrix looked it over and pointed at Reginald, who began begging for his life.

"Oh hush." Bella said, silently silencing Reginald.

"Now, Siri, we weren't expected to be seen, were we?" Bellatrix cooed.

"Not at all." Sirius said, his gravelly voice making his bluntness harsher.

"No?" She asked, a mad giggle escaping her lips. "We should fix that problem."

At this, Reginald's eyes widened and he ran.

Right into a wall.

Bellatrix watched as the drunken man hit the wall with a painful thud. His snores a moment later told them that he was out cold.

"Wow. That was… something." Bellatrix said, her voice losing its insane edge.

Sirius snickered, sat the man up, and snatched the wand from his cousin. He cast a minor healing spell and a spell to wipe the man's memory of the encounter.

"That was like one of those comedy films Lily showed me the summer before she got married." Sirius said with a bittersweet smile.

"We have a mission here, Siri." Bellatrix said impatiently.

Sirius rolled his eyes but nodded.

"Here, I trust you better with glamors." Sirius said, handing the wand to Bellatrix.

"I can't help but feel like that was a tad sexist." Bellatrix said with a smirk.

"Blame our upbringings. Proper pureblood ladies need to know how to make themselves decent, after all." Sirius returned with a grin.

"So all that about you being a poof back in school?" She smirked, eyebrow cocked.

Sirius sputtered, making Bella celebrate internally.

"That! Was James' fault. He couldn't talk to Lily so he only ever hung out with us." Sirius pouted.

"And nothing to do with the fact that if you two were any closer..." Bellatrix said, smiling widely.

"Shut up. We have a mission." Sirius said with a frown.

"You're too easy, little cousin. Now stand still."

OoooO

Sirius Black was not known for his patience.

So now, being asked to stand still and walk behind his cousin in an orderly fashion was making him feel very claustrophobic. Never mind the fact that they were in a mine. Never mind that there was a group of goblins with very pointy spears behind knew goblins didn't care for wizarding laws. That included criminals. If they had accounts, they were clients. No one was dumb enough to rob them.

Usually, after any business was conducted, criminals were extradited to the Ministry. For a finders fee and other small charges, of course.

In the case of Bellatrix LeStrange, left in the will of Rodolphus as manager of the more than vast LeStrange accounts, and her cousin, Sirius Black, who was sole heir and executor of the Black families and all their branches, this was a different story.

This could prove beneficial to them, especially with some of the less savory contracts and agreements made with both families generations and generations ago.

The group stopped in front of some overly decorated door of solid gold that made Sirius roll his eyes. The last time he'd seen anything so gaudy was at one of the functions his parents made him go to at the Malfoy estate. He did, however, have enough experience with goblins to know to mind his tongue.

"Here, humans. The Director of Gringotts England branch will see you now. Behave or die." The lead goblin snarled, standing to the side of the door.

Without a single sound, the door gilded open, leading way to a resplendent room with gems and gold inlays crossing the walls. Behind a massive desk of some impressively polished stone sat a goblin on a throne-like chair.

"Hurry and approach. Even for you, I don't have all day." The goblin said, not looking up.

Without a word, both Blacks approached the desk, sitting on the surprisingly comfortable chairs. The goblin patted out his paperwork and put it aside, staring at the pair with an expression somewhere between boredom and anger. There was a moment of silence as the goblin drummed his clawed fingers on the table.

"Well?" The goblin asked. Sirius wasn't sure if he was irritated, or just being a goblin.

"Director Helmspire, we are here today to simply manage our accounts." Bellatrix said in a haughty tone.

"Under disguises. It would be more than in our rights to simply toss you out with the rest of the rubbish." The goblin said in a snide voice.

"To the last remaining Blacks?" Bella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A single Black and one of the LeStranges." the goblin said, giving a feral grin. "Legally. If you wish to change that, you would be passing on any and all deals, monies, and properties of the Lestrange family."

"And that's why we're here." Bellatrix said, giving the goblin a cold smile.

"If you wish to clear their valuables in this fashion, it is a theft, as you're aware." The goblin replied, looking his nails.

"And that, Director, is why I am here." Sirius said.

The goblin looked at the man, an eyebrow raised. A clear sign to continue.

"What if we strike a bargain?" Sirius said with a grin. The goblin let out a barking laugh.

"It would require a lot more than what your vaults combined are worth. Azkaban must have done a number on your brain." Helmspire said.

"You let us move everything, every last bauble and knut in the LeStrange vaults." Sirius began.

"There are goblin made artifacts in there! We would be fools to not have those back!" the goblin interrupted with a snarl.

" _Every last bauble and knut!"_ Sirius roared, glaring at the goblin.

Bellatrix looked worried. She was regretting letting her cousin take the lead.

"Every last damned thing those bastards owned, every property, any scrap under their name." Sirius said in a cold voice, the goblin's teeth gnashing in anger. "And you get a single property deed."

The silence in the air was deafening.

' _We're dead,'_ Bella thought. ' _Sirius has lost his damn mind. We are going to get skewered by goblins and our remains tossed back into Azkaban.'_

The goblin rose menacingly.

"You dare try and make a mockery of this, wizard?" He said dangerously.

"Director, I-" Bellatrix began before Sirius silenced her with a raised arm.

"One. Singular. Deed." Sirius replied, leaning forwards.

"And what would be so _precious_ about a single property that we would effectively erase a whole vault from one of our oldest client families?" The director asked.

Sirius smirked.

"To me, it isn't worth a single damned thing." He said.

"I've heard enough. Guards!" Helmspire roared.

"Sirius, what the hell?!" Bella demanded as they were swarmed by armed goblins. Sirius however didn't look slightly perturbed. "Have you actually gone mad?"

"Helmy, you haven't even heard what I'm offering." Sirius said with an easy smile.

The goblin growled at the man, offended. This human was here, toying with him. A wanted madman by his kind. He could see why, but even the most insane of beings would be worried in this situation. Sirius Black looked smug.

"I'll humor you, human." Helmspire said. "Tell me, what singular property you claim has so much worth to me, here in front of my personal guard. If I find it not worth it, you die, here and now."

"Oh trust me, this isn't for just you." Sirius said with a smirk.

"Speak then. My patience is already worn out." The director said, sitting back.

"This is a singular deed, I know as a fact is within my person. Signed by the original head of our family, Arcturus Cygnus Black." He said, drawing out his part.

"Oh for Merlin's saggy tit, would you get on with it?" Bellatrix screeched, eyeing the spearpoints nervously.

"As my older cousin wishes." Sirius said with a smirk.

Slowly, his eyes never leaving Helmspire's, he pulled an ancient scroll. He offered it to the director, who rolled his eyes and opened the deed hastily.

Bella held her breath while the goblin read the deed. Whatever it was, Sirius was dead sure it would get them anything and everything from the goblins.

"WHAT?" The Director cried, almost dropping the deed.

Bella watched in awe as the director carefully caught it and placed it on his desk with a tenderness she didn't know goblins possessed.

"Weapons down. Now."

With some slight grumbling, the goblins lowered their weapons.

"This is real?" Helmspire asked.

"Completely. You'll find King Ragnok has his own copy." Sirius replied.

Bella was beyond curious. Sirius was acting smug and whatever this deed was made the director change his tune in a heartbeat.

"So, do we have a deal? Everything, and I mean, _everything_ the Lestrange family owns in your power. For this." Sirius said.

"Deal." The director said without a moment's hesitation.

"Director, you can't!" A goblin cried, eyeing Sirius suspiciously.

"Shut up, Gurnok. This human- _Lord_ Sirius Black and his cousin get whatever they want. Half priced. Make sure they're taken to their vaults and sent out the side exit as to not draw attention to themselves. Once they're done, any non-member of the goblin world gets thrown out." Helmspire ordered. "We celebrate tonight."

"Yes, Director." A goblin said. The troop marched out and the door remained open, waiting for Sirius and Bellatrix.

"As well as this day has gone, there is a lot to be tended to. If you would." Director Helmspire said, dismissing them with what would be a jovial smile.

"If I may ask," Bellatrix began. "What the hell did my cousin give you?"

"I'll explain. The Director has one hell of a promotion to get ready for." Sirius smirked, leading his cousin out.

"Talk, or I swear I'll hex your bits off." Bellatrix threatened.

"It was something that guaranteed us our use of this institution any time. See, in the 1400s, when the Blacks were finally starting to unify as a single family rather than independent nomads, Arcturus sold some then worthless property to Gringott, the founder of this bank, and a leader of the Goblin Nation, which was significantly smaller than." Sirius began, explaining the background.

"We owned the bank?" Bella asked with a surprised look.

"Nonsense, my dear cousin. You know Blacks are far trickier than that, and a lot more doubtful of non-wizards. No, Arcturus asked for half of anything that came from Gringotts settlement. Technically, we owned half of all goblin property world-wide." Sirius said, making sure the last part was heard by the goblins, who he noticed listening in.

Between the several fumbled spears and Bellatrix' look of shock, he didn't know what was funnier. He let out a barking laugh and kept walking, Bella keeping up in a daze.

She knew the Blacks had all sorts of contracts with different groups and families. But it still managed to surprise her either way.

OoooO

"Your vault will be expanded, contents of the LeStrange vault will be added in afterwards." The goblin said, walking them to the Black vault.

Sirius nodded and walked to the door, the pointed handle-like protrusion next to it gleaming in the fire-lit cave. He sighed and grasped the handle, wincing internally as it cut into his hand.

Satisfied by receiving the proper blood, the doors separated and opened with a grating sound.

"Come on, Bells. We need wands." Sirius said, walking them in.

Sirius made a mental note of the heirlooms and other such things that lined stone shelves, frowning slightly at the amount of gold in the vault. Bellatrix must have noticed too, because she turned to their guide.

"You, Morrok. Why is there so much gold missing from the vault?" She demanded.

"The vault has been managed by the Malfoy family, as Narcissa Malfoy was the last free Black. They have been using the vault for investments." Morrok explained.

"And we can recover that, yes?" Bella asked.

The goblin gave her one of their sharp-toothed smiles.

"Of course, Miss Black. Along with all earnings and interests the funds have garnered." The goblin said with what seemed like joy.

Bella nodded.

"Can we do that and remove anyone with the Malfoy name from the vault?" Sirius wondered aloud.

"We can, Lord Black." Morrok affirmed.

"Can we wait until after we're free?" Bellatrix asked.

"Very smart, Miss Black. Legally, according to the… _agreements_ … set by your Ministry," Morrok spat, "they can _reclaim_ the assets."

"We wait then. Anyways, here we go. The family wand-vault." Sirius said, opening an armoire.

The armoire opened up, revealing an assortment of wands. Sirius hummed as he looked around, running a finger over the wooden sticks.

Bella stood and waited. With as long a family history as they had, finding the appropriate wand would take a moment. He was feeling for a wand that felt warm. And she sighed, knowing she'd have to do the same. It had been years since she held her own wand, and truth be told, she missed it dearly. Rodolphus, in an act of supreme cruelty, had seen fit to snap her wand in front of her own eyes. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine it. The mahogany wood, the warmth of it in her hand.

"Bella?" Sirius' voice came.

She didn't respond. She wanted a moment more of this. The absence of the dementors had let her focus on her memories a lot better. More so than she had in what felt like a lifetime.

"Bella!" He called.

"Dammit, Sirius, I'm trying to focus, now hurry and pick a wand or I'll curse you the second I pick one!" She shrieked, prodding him in the chest with a wand.

There was a moment of silence as she seemed to realize she was holding on to a wand, looking down at it with a confused frown.

"Now, where did _you_ come from?" she cooed.

"That's what I was gonna ask." Sirius grumbled.

"Haven't you been searching for like ten minutes?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It has literally been two minutes." Sirius returned.

"Four and a half." Came the voice of the goblin guard.

Sirius cursed and turned back to the cabinet.

He began mumbling under his breath, hand held out to the cabinet. Bella felt a tremor down her spine, as she usually did around her family's magic.

" _...circumdederunt magicae Nigriora…"_ he mumbled, the cabinet wands slowly raising and spinning about.

Bellatrix watched in awe as one by one, the wands began returning to their places until one remained. Sirius opened his eyes and smugly took it from the air, grinning at the wand.

"There. One simple Black family spell and your cousin has a wand." Sirius said.

"Sirius," Bella breathed, looking at him curiously, "what the hell was that?"

"An old ritual summon. It gives us something we need _and_ want from available materials." He said vaguely, waving his hand dismissively.

Bella frowned. She knew Lord-Black-To-Be men received special knowledge from the previous Head of House, but she was unaware that Sirius had taken any lessons from Arcturus.

' _What secrets do you keep, Sirius Black?'_ Bella mused, following her cousin out of the vault.

Some moments later found them in some suspiciously clean alleyway behind Gringotts Bank, the rubbish bins showing that they were clearly out of magical London.

"We need to go soon." Bellatrix said, eyeing the electric lights in the near distance with distaste.

Sirius nodded and with synchronized snaps, they vanished.

OoooO

Bella sat alone outside on the roof of the Shrieking Shack. In the distance, Hogwarts was alight, glowing majestically without taking away from the night skies. She sighed to herself, looking at the castle with a deep longing.

"I wonder what my Cassie is doing there. All alone in the world." She whispered to herself.

She sniffled slightly, sighing at her eyes misting up. She missed her daughter more than anything in the world. She had thirteen years to make up to her daughter and she wanted to, so desperately.

' _She'll hate you_.'

"Shut up." She said to herself, her self-doubt voicing itself.

' _You spent years locked in Azkaban, your daughter alone. Probably lied to about who she was. Her name. You think she'll leave a whole life behind for you?'_

"I am her mother." She said, trying to sound confident.

' _And you essentially abandoned her.'_

"No. No, no nonono. That was all Rodolphus. It was his fault." She cried softly, the tears beginning to brim over.

' _Having an excuse is nice'_

"I couldn't do anything. Not under the contract.." She wailed.

' _Much better. Not only abandoned but abandoned by a weak-willed woman.'_

Bellatrix sat there, shaking violently.

She was a bad mother. She knew it, her conscious knew it, and if she told her daughter, she would know it.

She knew how she pictured it. A young girl in tears of joy, the happiest one in the world to be reunited with a mother she had no chance of meeting.

Reality, however…

She shook her head. She was sure it wouldn't be as she pictured it, but she hoped it wouldn't be like she dreaded it would. She looked back at the castle, sighing. She wondered where her Cassie had ended up. A Slytherin like her mother? Was she a brave girl without her real mother, a Gryffindor? A loyal Puff or a smart Claw?

In her heart, she knew it didn't matter. She would love and be proud of who her daughter was and be a damned good mother. A lot better of a parent than Druella was, and definitely better than Cygnus, the greasy bastard. She let out a huff at the thought of her cold parents, thanking her luckiest of stars that they had passed away long ago.

Bella took a small locket from her shirt, looking at the baby within. Her head was a shock of black hair for a newborn, and her eyes were closed. She sighed longingly and shut the locket.

OoooO

Pansy Parkinson sat in her bed, trying not to cry. She knew without a doubt her family wasn't fond of her. She was a chance child of a family that desperately wanted a male heir. Instead, they got their first disappointment, a daughter. They essentially gave her away to the Malfoys, a lucky break on their part. Draco had said he liked "this one" and after a few months, a contract was drafted up. Then, the next big disappointment, the contract ended. As if it wasn't insulting enough, Lucius made it clear he did not care to see his gold back. Not only did the Malfoy Heir see her as someone not worthwhile, Lucius essentially said he didn't want their sullied gold back, an insult to her parents and her in one fell swoop.

She had seen the effects almost as soon as she arrived at the Hogwarts express. None of the other families would go _near_ the unwanted Parkinson's. Their reputation was tainted by a superior family. In the train, no one wanted to sit with her in their carriage. Either because of the Malfoys or because of her awful attitude their whole school time.

She was grateful to Potter and Greengrass, high class people helping her out. She ruled out pity after a quick look at their group and associates.

She was still around affluent people, but her parents considered them blood traitors and impurities that plague their world. Cowards and nobodies in the real world, her parents said in their letter. She took a shaky breath and read it over once more, cringing at the letter. They always hated her, and now she had concrete evidence.

 _Blasted child,_

 _Just when we thought you couldn't sink lower, you prove us wrong._

 _Not only did you run afoul the kindness and hospitality of Lord Malfoy and lose us his respect, but you've set yourself up with undesirables. As if blood traitor whores weren't bad enough, bastard half-blood filth as well. We bore you, raised you to be better than this disgrace you've proven to be since you first cried out in the world._

 _Do not return to the manor._

 _You are no longer welcome._

 _Signed from the desk of,_

And that was it. Her own parents disowned her and didn't bother signing their final goodbye.

She was a disgrace to her own blood.

Pansy laid back and looked at the ceiling, crying. She would be leaving soon, as no doubt her father would demand his money back for sending her to Hogwarts. She didn't have much other than a trust vault her parents allowed her, no doubt it'd been taken if she hadn't made sure to set it up herself.

Goblins didn't care if family members forged signatures for what was in their own vaults, after all.

She made a mental note. She had enough to make a choice, pay tuition and be royally screwed, or drop out and have _some_ time to find a job.

Neither choice appealed to her, especially considering she was just thirteen.

With a sob, Pansy rolled over and cried herself to sleep.


	6. Not a Chapter

Hey guys, Vaine here.

Firstly, I wanted anyone who actually reads and enjoys my story to know that this is **NOT** dead, just on an unfortunate hiatus. This notice is being typed on my mobile as my laptop had a catastrophic failure.

When writing, I outline the story, chapter outline, and go from there.

Well, due to my computer screwing up, I lost all of that.

The current chapter, next chapter outline, and the overall story outline have all been lost.

Add in a full time job and chronic illness, I have very little free time to actually get this together.

However!

This story will continue. I am reworking the outline on a backed up set up now, along with the chapter to the best of my ability. I don't have an exact date of when the next chapter will be up, but I thank you all for your patience.

I did let you guys know that I am open to suggestions and ideas, my inbox is open to it. Please make sure to show your appreciation for Haphne24, my wonderful friend and editor, and for myself. Believe me, we appreciate all of your follows and reviews.

Vaine, out.


End file.
